In a world where drought, conflict, and climate change already push millions to the brink, the United States’ decision to slash food aid isn’t just a policy change – it’s a lifeline severed.
By Edward Githae
In a world rapidly warming under the weight of human activity, the timing of the United States’ recent humanitarian aid cuts could not be more devastating, particularly for Africa. As droughts scorch farmland, floods uproot communities, and crops fail with increasing frequency, over 280 million Africans already face undernourishment. Now, with the U.S. eliminating 42 vital food aid and humanitarian programmes, many in Africa and the Middle East, the consequences could be catastrophic. Aid groups are not mincing words: this is “a death sentence for millions.”
Africa’s hunger crisis in the age of climate change
Africa has long been on the frontlines of global food insecurity, but climate change is rapidly turning a chronic crisis into an existential threat. According to the UN’s State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023, nearly one in five Africans – over 280 million people – is undernourished. And the situation is worsening.
Take the Horn of Africa, where climate extremes have created one of the most severe food emergencies in recent memory. Following five consecutive failed rainy seasons, more than 60 million people in Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and Sudan required emergency food aid in 2023. In Madagascar, prolonged drought has decimated harvests, forcing families to survive on wild leaves and cactus fruit. Across the Sahel, floods and conflict compound the crisis, as arable land vanishes and displaced populations grow.
Despite contributing less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Africa is warming at a rate faster than the global average. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that parts of the continent could see temperatures rise by up to 3°C by 2050; a level of warming that would decimate crop yields and stretch already fragile food systems to the breaking point.
USAID cuts: A lifeline severed
Against this backdrop, the decision by the U.S. government to axe 42 humanitarian programmes – including many aimed at food and nutrition support – is not merely budgetary housekeeping. It is a humanitarian retreat at a time when leadership is most needed.
USAID has long been one of the world’s most significant sources of emergency food assistance. In 2022, it provided more than $4.3 billion in emergency aid, with over 60% directed to sub-Saharan Africa. These funds supported everything from school feeding programs and therapeutic nutrition for malnourished children to agricultural support that helped farmers survive failed harvests and erratic weather.
With these cuts, critical services are vanishing almost overnight. In countries like South Sudan, where over 70% of the population depends on humanitarian assistance, and Somalia, where famine looms due to prolonged drought, the effects will be immediate and dire. Without intervention, the World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that up to 24 million people in East Africa could face emergency-level hunger or worse by 2025.
These are not just statistics – they are futures lost. When feeding centres shut down, children die. When school meals disappear, families pull girls out of classrooms to search for food. When aid dries up, desperation fuels instability, migration, and in some cases, violence.
A contradiction in U.S. Policy
The cuts to USAID food programs reflect a broader shift in U.S. priorities, as Congress redirects spending toward domestic agendas and geopolitical concerns. Yet this pivot stands in stark contradiction to the Biden administration’s public pledges on climate justice, global leadership, and sustainable development.
It is a contradiction with global consequences. Climate resilience cannot exist in a vacuum -communities must first survive to adapt. Withdrawing aid undermines the very foundations of long-term climate adaptation by stripping away emergency lifelines.
Moreover, the U.S. is not acting in a vacuum. Other major donors often follow its lead. A reduction in American aid signals to the rest of the international community that the world’s most vulnerable can be sidelined.
African innovation and the need for global solidarity
Fortunely, African governments and communities are not sitting idly by. Local innovations are blooming in the face of adversity. Rwanda’s Green Gicumbi Project is restoring degraded landscapes and building climate-resilient housing. Kenya’s Climate-Smart Agriculture Strategy is helping smallholder farmers adapt through better water management and drought-resistant crops. Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme combines food aid with work-for-cash schemes that build community assets.
But no amount of local innovation can fill the gap left by vanishing emergency assistance. Without reliable external support, Africa’s most climate-vulnerable populations will fall through the cracks. The African Development Bank warns that climate-induced food insecurity could cost African economies over $50 billion per year by 2050, dragging down development, peace, and economic opportunity across the continent.
A moral and strategic imperative
The U.S. food aid cuts are more than a policy misstep; they are a strategic blunder in the age of global interconnectedness. Hunger drives conflict, migration, and instability – issues that know no borders. By turning away from African humanitarian needs, the U.S. risks not only moral failure but also the erosion of long-term global security and influence.
In this climate-challenged era, sustained international solidarity is not charity. It is justice. It is partnership. And it is the only way to prevent today’s hunger from becoming tomorrow’s global crisis.
Now is not the time to retreat – it is the time to rise. Anything less, and the phrase “a death sentence for millions” will cease to be hyperbole and become our shared, shameful reality.
